It was a great sad moment for me. I woke up this particular Sunday thinking about how my life is. It was a new week and I
could barely afford N100. I have to go to school that week, feed myself and so many expenses. I don’t even know how to do it. But I believed on God to help me.
could barely afford N100. I have to go to school that week, feed myself and so many expenses. I don’t even know how to do it. But I believed on God to help me.
I dressed up for church without offering money. And we were having a thanksgiving program in my church. I got the church; the usher didn’t even do me well by taking me to the extreme front seat, just close to the pulpit. And I no come get offering money. I imagined how it will look like if they say, “bring out your money for offering.” And they don’t use envelop in this church to say I could just drop and empty envelop without any body knowing. This one, you have to raise your money up for people to see. And if I say make I comot for that front seat, it will look as if am disobeying the usher. And the pastors they alter dey look. My plan was that when it comes to offering time, I will walk out of the church.
The praise and worship came and went by. It was time for sermon and it was the invited pastor. And it was a very popular man of God I had been hearing about. It was a pleasure seeing him directly from the pulpit. As he mounted the pulpit, he shouted, “How many of you here can give God N1m, raise up your hand.” immediately he said that, na so silence enter everywhere. Nobody gree raise hand. “Does it mean that there is no one in this church who can give God N1m,” he said again. I didn’t know what just came over me that I just raised up my hand. Na so everybody come dey look me for church. Some may just be thinking, “who is this small boy, abi na yahoo boy him be wey him wan give N1m.” My roommate was sitting at a corner staring at me, as if I had smoked unrefined weed, or maybe I was trying to impress one small girl in the church. Because I was complaining that morning that I had nothing on me.
The pastor said I should stand up and asked me when I was going to bring the N1m to the church. He placed the microphone at my mouth so everyone could be hearing what I was saying. “So when are you bringing the money,” the pastor said.
“Well, I will bring the N1m, Next year after my NYSC, I must have gotten a good job and can afford that,” I replied to the pastor.
Immediately I said that, the whole church busted into laughter. I overheard the girl sitting behind me as she said, “this guy nay eye guy. Na next year he wan bring N1m.” As some people were still laughing, the invited man of God said he liked my faith even though I didn’t believe that God can still do it for me to give the money that present time. And he prayed for me that God should bless and increase as people were still laughing. After the prayers, he laughed and turned to me and saying.
“you this boy, I just love your faith. Even when people are laughing at you that you can give it even when you don’t have it.
Before I knew what was happening, the invited man of God called his personal assistant and asked to bring his cheque book from the car and told him to write a cheque of N2m and bring it for him to sign. After the Personal assistant had written the cheque, he brought it to him and he signed it and gave it to me. Na so I come dey look like locuzade. “Collect this cheque from me young man,” the pastor shouted.
All these were happening in front of the whole church. My brothers and sisters, come see as people come dey shout dey jump for church as I collected the cheque. My roommate ran from where he was sitting to where I was.
“Young man, after collecting the money from the bank, pay your N1m and take the rest,” the man of God said to me. The whole church went haywire as people began coming to me to see if the cheque was real. Me sef I was yet to believe what I was seeing. I was still doubting the authenticity of the cheque not until I went to the bank the next day thinking the cheque would bounce. But na lie as I cashed my money. I immediately paid my pledge of N1m to the church account and the remaining N1m, na inside my account the money enter.
Fast-forward to 2 months later, my fame had increased that a popular man of God gave me N2m. The man of God was invited to another program in that city by another church. Mehn come and see crowd. I even attended the program with a female friend of mine. And this man of God is popular and he dey dash people money wella.
At the program, when he mounted the podium, he said he needed 10 people that would give the church N500,000 each before the end of the month. He wanted only 10 people but more than half of the church stood up because the alter was not enough to contain them if they came out. The more than half said they would give N500,000 before the end of the month. Even the female friend of mine stood up that she would give the N500,000 but I never came out. Well I don’t know where she would get that kind of money. I believed maybe the faith that brought me out in my own would work for her. Because her salary was just N10,000 monthly. But majority of the people that came out are poor and not well to do people like pepper sellers, market women. Even papa ifeanyi who is still owning his landlord N5000, came out that he would give the church N500,000. Seeing all those things, I began to wonder their what was happening and the motive of their coming out. It was there and then I realized that came out, thinking that the man of God would give them money. Dem think say man of God go dash dem money as he dey dash others. But it was unfortunate that he didn’t do that. He told the church to collect all the names and phone number of those who pledged to give the money. He prayed for them and told them that they have pledged, so they should fulfill their promise, if not, God will judge them. Na so the matter end till he preach finish come waka comot. As he comot finish, so many people come dey cry say dem don carry gbese for head. They have carried huge debt. The female friend of mine began grumbling that she thought the man of God would just give them cheque as he gave to me, that was why she stood up. Na so I come laugh her. So that was why she stood up. And I warned her ooo. Now she don carry debt, huge gbese. Well, i encouraged her to do what she can to pay because one doesn’t make a promise to God and fail to do that. Na so she say make I help her pay. I laughed, if I hear say I pay. It’s her curse so let her carry it.
A month later, I began hearing that the church had started calling and visiting those that had made N500,000. My friend that pledged told me that she doesn’t have a rest of mind. That the church had been disturbing her to pay her pledge, and that wasn’t even her church. She was just invited. Shebi them want money, na dem go give now. I didn’t know what to tell her. I also heard that so many people went back to the church to them they didn’t mean the pledge, that they can’t meet up with it. Some talk say dem no go pay at all.
